Materials Guide

ThinkLaser work with a range of FTSE 100, Universities, and other large and exciting organisations to enable them to make best use of the benefits of laser technology.

If you would like to see how the ThinkLaser engineers and consultants can help your organisation, please get in touch with us through our enquiry form.

Below, we look at the benefits of laser technology for manufacturing, and provide an overview of laser engraving, laser marking and laser cutting application possibilities.

Benefits of Laser Marking

Laser marking based technology is now a widely accepted addition to those more traditional tools used for component marking. The benefits the laser marking application process provides can be an important addition to your production environment.

No clamping or retaining during the laser marking or engraving process

No impact force to the part during the marking process

No chemicals being used, therefore environmentally friendly

Placement accuracy and quality is repeatable and sustainable

Laser engraving and cutting flatbed technology is now widely used in many non-industrial environments. The large area process format, combined with the wide range of material processing capability, makes it an ideal flexible, low cost machine for market sectors such as education, fashion, sign making and model making.

The following list identifies common materials and identifies if they can be processed using lasers and if so which are the most appropriate.

Material Category

Lightwriter Marking systems

M Series Marking System

Lightblade Product range

Fiber

CO2

Nd:YAG

CO2

Engraving

Cutting

Earthenware

Ceramics

Terracotta

Fabrics

Cotton

Denim

Felt

Linen

Nylon

Polyester

Leather

Leather Normal

Suede

Synthetic Leather

Silk

Chiffon

Foam

High Density

Low Density

!

!

!

Glass

Plain and Crystal

Mirror

Metals

Aluminium

Plain

Anodised

Hard

Black Enamelled Brass

Brass

Copper

Cast Iron

Gold

Hastelloy

Molybdenum

Platinum

Silver

Steel

Blackened

Cobolt Chrome

Mild

Stainless

Tool

Tin

Titanium

Tungsten

Zinc

Zirconium

Plastics

ABS

Acrylics

Coloured

Fluorescent

Frosted

Mirror

Painted for Day Night Parts

Bakelite

Clear PETG

Mylar

Nylon

Peek

Polycarbonate

Polypropylene

Styrene

Romark Laminates

Stone

Marble

Slate

Stone

Wood

Cork Sheet

MDF

MDF Veneers

Obeche

Plywood

Spuce

Walnut

Others

3M Laser Receptive Label Laminates

Card

Ceramic High Alumina

Corrugated Cardboard

Eggshell

Paper

!

!

Silicon Rubber

Sand

! – This indicates that the materials could be marked using this type of laser but that there are issues.

For example, low density foam has a tendency to melt when too much energy is applied. The surface and density can be inconsistent and therefore difficult to control.

The guidance provided is just that. We have learnt from years of laser application on a wide range of materials that there are always exceptions to the rules. We recommend that you have your materials tested so that you can determine if the results meet expectations. We must stress the importance of sample testing.

Examples of bending the rules:

Cermark – Thermark – Marksolid

Provides a permanent chemical bond with the base material when the laser energy is absorbed. This formula allows you to use a wavelength of laser light not normally associated with a particular material type (for example you could use a CO2 laser to process Stainless Steel, a match that would not normally work). The material can also be used to enhance the process (for example you can use any of these to achieve a black or white mark onto Glass or simply use it to achieve a dark black mark on steels and aluminium). There are additional costs involved with using the process (applying the material and washing off residue at the end of the process) but it does provide process options.

Plastics

Can be modified using laser absorbent additives. Normally mixed as part of the master batch, the additive creates an absorption barrier to materials that traditionally would have translucent properties improving marking results.